


A Million Reasons

by TheGreatKelthulhu



Category: Ash vs Evil Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 04:16:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14845532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatKelthulhu/pseuds/TheGreatKelthulhu
Summary: He'd given her a hundred million reason to walk away. He hoped he could give her a good one to stay.





	A Million Reasons

**Author's Note:**

> A fic inspired by Lady Gaga's "A Million Reasons". Ash tries to get his girl back.  
> Takes place after season 3 (in a slightly altered fanverse)

Ash tapped the fingers from his flesh hand on the steering wheel, impatiently. The light was red, and he had somewhere to be. 

After Artemis had given birth to their twins, she'd told him she needed space to get her bearings and think about what she wanted from him. She'd told him to go back to Michigan, be with the other members of his family, and she'd call him when she was ready to speak to him again. 

He hadn't wanted to leave his newborn twins--or their mother--but he was already in deep shit with her for leaving in the first trimester without a word, so he really didn't want to push it. 

After about 2 and a half weeks, he got a call. She wanted to talk to him.  
So here he was, back in New Jersey, driving his Delta and Airstream trailer to her parents' house, where she and the babies had been staying. 

The light turned green, and he stepped on the gas, hoping the mother of his twins wasn't calling him back only to tell him that she was going to send him away again.  
After all...after leaving her while she was pregnant, never calling or writing, never visiting, and having to have been tracked down after that showdown with Kandar the huge fucking Destroyer...he'd given her a million reasons to let him go. 

Part of him wanted to run to the hills. Part of him wanted to draw Artemis into his arms and stay forever still. 

His grip on the worn out leather of the steering wheel tightened as he saw the familiar house coming into view. 

 

He'd given her a hundred million reasons to walk away. He hoped he could give her a good one to stay.

 

* * *

 

Artemis was standing in the front yard, staring at the road. The twins were inside, with their only living grandparents and uncle. 

Her head was in a cycle of imagining clinging to Ash as he swept her off her feet, and imagining the hurt look on his face if she told him that she was done with him.  
She felt like she'd stopped breathing, almost stopped existing on this plane as she imagined this, but remained completely aware of everything going on around her.  
She was nervous. 

Of course she was. She was going to see the father of her twins again, after almost 3 weeks. She'd sent him back to Michigan because she'd needed space to recover from giving birth, and to figure out what she really wanted from Ash.  
She _still_ wasn't entirely sure. 

Yeah, it'd be nice to have Ash back in her life, to raise the twins with him, and even take care of his daughter-from-another-mother and two surrogate kids with him.  
But that's just it. It was _nice_ , not _realistic_. 

Ash had already told her, before he left the first time, that he'd stick around and take care of the kids with her.  
He'd said that again.  
He might say it once more, along with other things he might even mean. But after hearing it before, how could she tell which parts she should believe? 

Because after abandoning her, leaving her with radio silence for months, breaking his promise...hurting her like that...  
She bowed her head, and--surprising herself--tried to pray. 

"Almighty, Master of the Universe,  
Who has given me my life, my health, my family, my friends, my children, and my potential to develop as a human being--to grow and to come close to You, please--let this have a happy ending. Show me the way to have this family be together. Thank you, Almighty, for this and for everything that You have given me."

If The G-Man decided to smile upon his estranged child today, it could make even the worst Ash had put her through seem better. 

Because he'd given her a hundred million reasons to walk away from him. But to stay, all she really needed was a good one.

 

* * *

 

Ash stepped out of the Delta, shutting the door behind him. He saw Artemis a few feet away from the driveway, on the lawn, looking as beautiful as he'd remembered. 

One look at her and he felt like his heart was bleeding. She looked nervous, sad...but he also thought he saw hope flash briefly in her eyes.  
That was a good sign. 

He gathered up the courage to slowly make his way over to her, hoping that she wasn't turning him away. Hoping that he could be what she was needing. 

 

Artemis was thinking the same thing. Every promise to her that he'd broke make it hard for her to keep any faith in him, but the look on his face as he walked over to her was a good one.  
It was full of anxiety. But also hope. And maybe even love. 

 

Finally, he was standing in front of her, flexing the fingers of his Powerglove hand nervously.  
"Hey, Blueberry. How's my baby-mama been?"

His jocular and jovial tone were betrayed by the nervous tremble in his real hand.  
Artemis noticed this. 

"I've been alright. My vagina is recovering well." 

"Good to hear. Get that thing back into shape, have some fun with it again some time."  
He swallowed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, for lack of anything else to do with them.  
"How are the twins?" A flash of fatherly concern went through his face. 

"They're fine. Healthy. Eat and shit as well as any other babies. Maybe even more." 

"That's great." He smiled, happy and relieved. "So...you called me here. You've been thinking about..."  
He gestured between the two of them.

"Us?" Artemis tilted her head. 

"Yeah. Us." He cleared his throat. "So, um...what exactly have you been thinking?"

Artemis sighed. Suddenly, she felt very tired.  
"I...I don't know." She tucked a stray strand of blue hair from her face.  
"I want to believe that you and I can work something out, so we can both be in the twins' lives...but you already broke your promise once and left me. That doesn't bode well."

"I was scared," Ash said, a little defensively. 

"So was I!" Artemis's eyes flashed angrily. 

"I know." Ash ran his real hand through his slicked-back hair, letting out a breath.  
"Look, Blueberry...just about everyone I've ever been close to has ended up dead. Hell, my other three kids have all died once, each. I figured if I stayed, you and the twins would end up the same way."

Artemis crossed her arms, furrowing her brow. "So what changed, Ash? Why did you come back? Why do you want to stay, _now_?"

"Because. I got all three of my other kids back." He smiled softly. "And...I've been thinking about you. How you're stronger than any other woman I've known, how you just keep going and going in the face of undead evil, like a fuckin' Energizer Bunny--"

Artemis was somehow feeling even more tired now. "What's your point, Ash?" 

"My point, Blueberry, is...I'm still scared of losing you and the twins, but I realize that you can hold your own. You're as much of a fighter and survivor as me. Maybe even more of one. And the twins probably take after you."

"That's sweet. But how do I know that you _mean_ that, Ash? I mean, actually, you _meant_ it last time, but you still left anyway."

"I know. I know." Ash scratched at his temple, looking sheepish and guilty. And feeling that way, too.  
"But...I think I'm ready to commit, now. To my other three kids, to my two new ones, and to you." 

Artemis dropped her hands to her sides, eyeing him wearily. "I'd _really_ fucking like to believe that, Ash, but--"

She was interrupted by Ash's flesh fingers covering her lips. 

Once she was quiet, he removed his fingers, held one up in a "hang on" gesture, then dug around in his pants pocket.  
From the dark brown material, he pulled out a small, square-shaped, hot pink box. 

Artemis raised an eyebrow, curious. "What's that?" 

Holding it out to her with his flesh hand, he used his other hand to open the box, revealing a bright pink stone set on a gold band...that was just her size. 

"Arty...I love you. I don't ever want to leave you again. I think it'd be pretty bitchin' if I could stay with you forever. Will you marry me?" 

Arty stood there with her mouth open, the spring wind blowing her blue locks slightly around her face.  
She...hadn't been expecting that. She'd been expecting the worst, actually. Pain and sadness for both of them. But Ash had just proposed to her. Holy shit. 

Ash stood there, arm outstretched, heart caught in his throat, hoping that he wasn't making an idiot of himself.  
He'd spend a large chunk of his weed and retirement money on this ring. He'd spilled his heart out to her, and he didn't want it thrown onto the ground, trampled on and--

"Yes," Artemis said, softly, as she reached to slip the ring onto the appropriate finger. 

"What?" She'd spoken so softly, Ash hadn't quite heard her. He knew what he wanted to hear, but...

"Yes!" Louder this time. She grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled him in and down for a kiss, pressing her lips to his fiercely. 

"Great." Ash smiled dopily once she released him, then went back for more, kissing her again, holding her tightly in his arms.  
This had worked out. 

Artemis tangled a hand into Ash's hair and kissed him even harder, with even more passion. 

 

They were both nervous as hell and expecting the worst when he'd showed up. After all, he'd given her a hundred million reasons to walk away.

But, in the end, he'd given her a good one to stay.

**Author's Note:**

> Artemis is a character of mine, based in the above-mentioned fanverse.  
> There'll be more of her (and the backstory to her and Ash's relationship) to come.  
> I just like to do things out of order.


End file.
